What types of leaders are best for different situations?
Some leaders are better at some organizations and at different times in the life cycle of that company. Generally, leaders fall into two types: those who are focused on making things happen, who are good at enforcing, giving a directive. And then there are those who are what we call reckless opportunists, those who are good at taking risks, and inspiring growth. For businesses that are reasonably stable, (those that aren’t suffering from regulatory changes or competitive pressures, for instance, and industries without a lot of consolidation) it is good to have leaders who are deal makers, and challenging things. These leaders make and take risks. Then there are managers who are trained throughout their career to control and manage and to some extent avoid risk. Of course you need both. Unfortunately, most organizations don’t spend a lot of money training folks how to take risk. It’s left for individuals to develop themselves. What happens if your personal leadership style, or that of a
